Comb



Feb, s. 1925. 1,525,106

Y R. M` SMYTHE COMB Filed Aug. 21, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @gw M5251 Tam,

@eh 3, E925.

F-. M. SMYTHE COMB Filed Aug. 21, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 3,1925.

P NT JFI E,

'RICHARD M. s'iviYtiiHn or BRLQKLYN, NEW Yoan.

coivfB.

Application filed ugilst Vv21, 1923. `Serial No 658,537.

T0 all whom tmaig/ conce/m.'

Be it know-n that I, RICHARD M. SMYTHE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Combs, of which thefollowing is la full, clear, vand exact description.

The pres-ent invention relates to combs, and has for its object tovprovide such Ian article with teeth having grooves inthe side wallsthereof for the collection of'dandruif, dust, germs and the like fromy'the hair vand scalp ofthe user.

A further object ot' 'the yinvention resides in combining with such acomb a means for imparting a suction along 'the y:grooves of the combteeth for the purpose of reniov'- ing thedandruft', etc., therefrom assoon as collected.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a simple andinexpensive means for mounting the comb in operati-ve relation to thesuction-producing means.

@ther objects and advantages lof the invention will be apparent from'thefollowing description when taken in connection with theaccompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of the c'oinplete device.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lline 2 2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the mounting Yforthe comb.

Figure 4 is a perspective vview of the comb and holderv detached, and

Figure 5 is a side elevation, partl f broken away, of a` comb andattachment Iacapted to be connected to any type of vacuum sweeper.

It isgenerally well known that-the. hair and scalp of the human head isoften insanit-ary, not only because of the formation of dandruff, butalso because of the collection of dust, dirt, bacteria and the like fromthe air. This foreign kmatter cannot ordinarily be removed bya brush orcomb, for the reason that any such matter which may be collected'atone'stroke of the comb is immediately put back intothe hair at the nextstroke. Furthermore, the hair and scalps of women are even morediiiicult to clean, even by shampooing, due to the gre-at length andquantity of hair.

It is for the purpose of overcoming the foregoing difficulties that Ihave ydevised the :present construction in which Athe'coinb l visVprovided with grooves 2 extending longitudinally of the side walls'ofthe vteeth 3. Each of these grooves extends `from a point 'adjacent thelfree end of the tooth to the back of thecomb, as more clearly indi'-cated in Figures 2 'and 3 of the drawings. With a -comb of thisconstruction 'it will be apparent that dandruff, etc., will be collectedin the grooves 4-2Yas-the comb is drawn through the hair, Yand may VTbewiped therefrom from time to time asdesired.

A comb provided with i grooves as described will aid-greatly incleaning-the hair. I have found., however, that by applying a suctiontothe grooves 2 the scalp andh-air may be Vthoroughl-y cleaned by`merely running the comb therethrough in the lusual manner. To this endI have provided a tube -f of metal or other similar material formed witha. `longitudinal slot 5 extending from one end of the 'tube to ai pointslightly beyond the `middle thereof. The tubular holder 4 isformedalongthe opposite edges of the slot 5 with outwardly "extending'parallel flanges, as shown in Fig. 2, which engage vthe opposite facesofthe comb and afford broad bearing surfaces therefor, and these -iangescontribute great-ly to the firm securing of the comb wit-hin lthe holderand V4efliciently take the lateral Apressure exerted -a-gainst the combwhentheflatter is drawn through the fhair.. The grooves -2 are at thefront and back faces of the comb and areopen at the upper edge of theback of the comb, and when thecoinb is inposition in the holder theupper edge of the comb is free of the walls thereof, thereby leavin-gthe upper ends ofthe grooves 2 unobstructed. The teeth and grooves 2 aretapered downwardly, and said `grooves by extending' through vthe back ofthe comb and being' wider at their upper vends may be readily cleanedout. The conib 1 is positioned in the slot 5 with one of its notchesengaged by the bridge piece 7 of the tube, -while theoppositefnotch G isengaged by 'a fiange 8 of the cap* 9 fitting over the "end `of the tube.

To the opposite end of the tube may be fitted a casing l0 inclosing awell known type of air pump and having a receptacle 11 of twill fabric,metal or glass detachably connected thereto. A handle 12 is provided onthe tube 4 for the purpose of manipulating the apparatus, while anelectric connection 13 is provided for connecting the device to theusual wall plug or the like.

The apparatus shown in Figure 1 is complete in itself and may be used inbarber shops, hair dressing` parlors or in the home. In Figure 5,however, is shown the identical device with the air pump omitted. Inthis form of the invention, which is somewhat cheaper, due to theabsence of the motor, the tube 4; may be connected to a vacuum sweeperof any type which is in general use. at the present time, as indicatedby the hose coupling 14.

In the operation of the device, the air pump 10 being' started or thecoupling lel being applied, the comb is drawn through the hair in theusual way. In this movement of the comb the grooves 2 will collect anydandrulf, dirt or the like and, due to the suction created by the pump,the same will be continuously drawn up into the tube 4 and thence to thereceptacle 11 or the usual receptacle of the vacuum cleaner.

It will be obvious that this device is especially well adapted for usein a barber shop for removing small pieces of hair from the head afterthe barber has finished cutting the hair. Furthermore, the device isalso useful in rinsing soap from the hair after washing. By attachingthe hose to a bath tub connection the water will be forced between theteeth of the comb, thereby forming a fan spray of water while beingdrawn through the hair.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings it will be seen that I have provided a comb having simplifiedmeans for collecting dandrutf and the like; that the means for mountingthe comb in the suction-producing apparatus is exceedingly simple, andthat the entire apparatus will remove the foreign mattei' and deposit itin the receptacle provided therefor' during the ordinary movements ofthe comb in combing the hair.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described what I nowbelieve to be the best embodiment of the invention, but I do not wish tobe understood thereby as limiting myself or the scope of the invention,as many changes and modifications may be made without departing from thespirit of the. invention; all such I aim to include in the scope of theappended claims.

That I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A comb having a back and a uniform series of corresponding teeth inone integral solid piece of material, said teeth and back on an outerface thereof having continuous exposed grooves commencing adjacent tothe points of the teeth and extending through the upper edge of saidback, said grooves at their upper ends being open.

2. A comb as claimed in claim 1, in which said teeth taper downwardlytoward their pointed ends and in which said grooves taper downwardlytoward their lower ends.

3. A comb having a back and a uniform series of corresponding teeth vinone integral solid piece of material, said teeth and back on the frontand back outer faces thereof having continuous grooves commencingadjacent to the points of the teeth and extending through the upper edgeof said back, said grooves at their upper ends being open.

4L. A comb as claimed in claim 3, in which said teeth taper downwardlytoward their pointed ends and in which said grooves taper downwardlytoward their lower ends.

5. A comb as claimed in claim 1, and a hollow elongated tubular holdertherefor, said holder containing a slot through which the back portionof the comb is inserted and said holder and comb having cooperatingmeans for securing the back of the comb within the holder, with theupper edge of said back at about the middle portion of the chamberwithin the holder, thereby leavinnl the upper ends of said groovesunobstructed, and said holder having at one end means for the connectionof vacuum or other apparatus thereto.

6. A comb as claimed in claim 3, and a. hollow elongated tubular holdertherefor containing in one side a slot to admit the back portion of thecomb and having parallel flanges at the sides of the slot to engage thecomb, said holder and comb having cooperating means for securing thecomb within the holder, with the upper edge of said back at about themiddle portion of the chamber within the holder, thereby leaving theupper ends of said grooves unobstructed, and said holder having at oneend means for the connection of a vacuum or other apparatus thereto.

7. A comb as claimed in claim 3, and a hollow elongated tubular holdertherefor containing in one side a slot to admit the back portion of the.comb, said holder and comb having cooperating means for securing thecomb within the holder with the upper edge of the comb free of the wallsthereof, thereby leaving the Vupper ends of said grooves unobstructed,and said holder having means for the connection of a vacuum or otherapparatus thereto.

RICHARD M. SMYTHE.

